ALL data stored in the MySejahtera application belongs to the government of Malaysia, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Negara today.
Khairy said that the National Security Council (NSC) and KPI Soft, the developer of the app signed a non-disclosure agreement on April 1, 2020 agreeing to the terms.
“The main terms in the NDA is that every data and information that comes through MySejahtera is wholly owned by the government.
“I would like to assure that all information stored in Sejahtera is safeguarded and for the sole use of the Health Ministry for the purpose of pandemic management.
“The usage and management of data for Sejahtera is governed by the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Medical Act 1971,” he told the Senate while replying to points raised during a motion on the MySejahtera app .
Khairy assured the senate that the data is stored at a data centre in Kuala Lumpur and not overseas as it had been claimed.
“The data is stored at AIMST Data centre here, in Kuala Lumpur. The information is uploaded onto a cloud daily and can only be accessed for the use of the MySejahtera app and any support app that is related to the pandemic.”
Check-in information stored on the app will be hard deleted, meaning it will no longer be recoverable after 90 days, he said.
The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) and National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) conducted a penetration and vulnerability test before the app was launched, Khairy said.
“Nasca conducts a monthly audit trail on the servers. Its Cyber Coordination and Common Centre (NC4) monitors the app to detect any breach.
“If anyone tries to log in and steal the data without permission, we will know.
“Based on these factors, I want to assure the public that all data on MySejahtera is government property and is kept safe.
“MOH will continuously ensure that this aspect is not compromised.”
Question over ownership
The ownership and management of the MySejahtera app made headlines recently when it was revealed that KPI Soft, now known as Entomo, sold the app’s intellectual property and software licence to MySJ Sdn Bhd for RM338.6 million.
The sale prompted questions about the safety of the data that was contained within MySejahtera, especially when it was revealed that Entomo was owned by a Singaporean company.
Khairy clarified that while Entomo was based out of Singapore, the company’s shareholders were largely Malaysian.
“They are based in Singapore because it is easier to get investors, like any other tech company, just like Grab in the past.
“I understand their business decisions, but the optics look bad,” Khairy said.
Khairy said that the government has not paid a single sen to any parties for the management of MySejahtera.
“No payments were made to KPI Soft, Entomo or MySJ. The only payment we made was for the use of Google’s API.”
Khairy put to bed rumours about an alleged sale of the app to the private sector late last year.
“On November 26 2021, the ownership of MySejahtera was transferred from the NSC to the MOH to make it easier for app monitoring, contact tracing and to strengthen the public health system.
“A committee was set up chaired by me, and agencies such as Mampu, Nacsa, the ministry of international trade and industries (Mosti) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (Mdec) were part of this committee for the purpose of negotiations with the operator of MySejahtera.
“Therefore, there is no issue about the sale of MySejahtera to a private company. It was a transfer of a company from a government agency to MOH.”
As for the rumoured RM338.6 million the government is set to pay MySJ for the app, Khairy said the amount is exaggerated.
“We are in the final stages of negotiation, it is definitely less than RM300 million.
“I know everyone wants to know how much we will be paying. It will be announced by the government once it has been finalised.”
Khairy said the government decided to directly negotiate with MySJ as it was much easier than starting from scratch with another company.
Khairy confirmed that he would appear before the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions with regards to the app. – March 31, 2022.
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